


It's Magic

by Anghelic



Series: Hand in Hand [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: ...Some Angst, F/M, Fluff, LeoSaku Week 2016, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 23:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8943280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anghelic/pseuds/Anghelic
Summary: Just because you can explain how it works, doesn't mean it isn't magical.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: For Wednesday's Magic/Nature prompt. I chose magic. Please enjoy!

Sakura had never seen anyone quite like him before.

His armor was eerily dark, save for the touches of gold that lined the intricate edges of each curve and point. Some spots wore dust, others wore what looked to be blood. He was hauntingly beautiful, like something out of a dark fairytale.

Blond hair, although strewn about, held a type of shine to it. Those brown eyes with specks of marigold in them narrowed at her, and thin lips curled into a menacing scowl. Sakura could feel a tremor run through her in that moment.

He walked towards her, his boots crunching on the glass shards of her broken mirror. With each step he took, her heart seemed to race faster. No doubt out of fear. The purple book in his right hand opened and the pages began to rustle, as if a gust of wind swept through her bedroom. His left hand reached towards her, emitting a light purple glow.

In a cold, commanding voice, he asked her, "Who are you? And what is this place? Answer now or prepare to face the consequences, vile Hoshidan."

Sakura couldn't seem to find her voice. Her pupils dilated. Her lips quivered.

The next moment, she fainted.

* * *

With a bow, he introduced himself as Prince Leo of Nohr; third in line to the throne.

Sakura slowly sat upright in her bed, the back of her head still throbbing from the way she had landed on the wooden floor earlier that day. "I-If I'm not mistaken… N-Nohr doesn't have princes." At least not for centuries. The country did away with those forever ago.

Leo looked bewildered for a moment before he scoffed. "That can't be. How hard did you hit your head earlier?"

She frowned, heat rising up to her cheeks. "Y-you came into my house th-through my mirror and threatened to attack me! I-If anyone should be unwilling to believe something, it's me! No one here dresses like that, a-and they don't talk like that either! Is this some kind of mean prank?"

His eyes widened, and he instinctively drew back from her. "I-I assure you, this is no joke. I would never intrude upon a lady's private quarters just for a few laughs."

When she kept silent Leo continued on, "I do apologize for my behavior, truly. It was rash and uncalled for. I… really don't know how I got here or where I am exactly. One moment, I was in battle with my enemies, and the next, I came crashing through your mirror. You say this place is Hoshido, but although I've never set foot in the country before, something about this doesn't feel right."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Sakura asked. It was a struggle just trying to keep up with his story.

"There are so many things here that I've never seen before," said Leo. "I didn't think Hoshido was so advanced, as frustrating as that is to admit."

Sakura's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What do you mean by advanced?"

For a second, the corner of Leo's lips twitch upwards into a smirk. "See that glass of water by your bedside? I went to retrieve it after you fainted." Sakura glanced at the glass on her night stand, and then returned her focus back to Leo. That was thoughtful of him. "I didn't get the idea until I started poking around your home, and I found myself tinkering with these silver knobs on the counter. When I turned one, water began to flow! Is it some kind of magic you Hoshidans came up with?"

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Was he being serious? "I-I'm positive that Nohr has r-running water as well. It's not magic… i-it's plumbing."

"Surely you aren't speaking of the Nohr I come from?" Leo asked. "If we had clean, running water that came from pipes, it would fix a lot of our problems."

Now that he put it like that, Sakura was beginning to think that she and Leo weren't talking about the same place. What was she going to do with a supposed prince from Nohr who didn't have a grasp of the modern world?

"I… y-you're not lying to me, r-right?" Sakura stammered. "This isn't just a terrible joke, i-is it?"

He grew quiet, as if in deep thought. "What more can I do to prove myself to you? I'm miles away from home and I've lost my mount – the only thing I have to show as proof of my heritage is the legendary tome. I'm… not quite sure what else I can do," Leo said. The words had come out almost bitterly, as if being unsure was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him.

Sakura always knew she was a rather naïve girl. She lived for fantasy – wishing to cast magic of her own, or even meet royalty from a kingdom far away. Here her fantasy was, clad in heavy armor and a magic book whose pages rustled without the wind, waiting patiently for her to say something. Anything.

She cast her gaze away from him, nervously playing with the hem of her skirt. "I… I don't know how we can get you back home b-but… I-I'd be willing to try."

Relief seemed to wash over his features, and he gave her another bow. "You have my thanks. I truly would not have known what to do otherwise.

"B-But if I'm going to help you, y-you have to do what I tell you," said Sakura quickly. "Things here are a bit… different where I'm from, s-so you have to try to fit in."

"Of course," said Leo with a smirk. "How hard could it be?"

Oh, it could prove to be very difficult. Especially since she was breaking one of the biggest rules of all time – having a boy in her room. If her parents ever found out, she would most definitely be in a world full of trouble.

Sakura was starting to feel a headache coming on.

* * *

Dressed in Ryoma's old red hoodie and tracksuit pants from the 10th grade, Sakura thought that Leo looked a bit… strange. Not as strange as the heavy looking suit of armor he was wearing (which was placed into her closet and camouflaged by some of her stuffed animals) but there was something off about him.

It didn't really look like his style. Maybe something closer-fitting would have looked better, but Ryoma's old clothes were all she had that could fit Leo somewhat decently. He stood before her, awkwardly checking out his new outfit with a furrowed brow.

"Y-You don't like it?" Sakura asked.

"Hm?" he hummed. "I don't dislike them. Though, I feel that a darker color would suit me better."

Ah, maybe it was the color that was throwing her off. "Is it at least c-comfortable?"

When he nodded, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the shards of glass were cleaned up and Leo seemed to be looking rather comfortable, their first order of business was to search the web for answers.

Leo looked mildly perplexed when Sakura pulled out her laptop and turned it on, and a bit startled when the startup melody rang in his ears. "What is that?" he asked with a frown.

"Oh, this is my computer," Sakura explained with a smile. "I can write on it, play games, talk to my friends, and use the internet."

"And it truly does all the things you say it does?" He asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice. Sakura nodded. "So, what is this 'internet' anyway?"

Sakura hummed in thought, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "W-Well, the internet is like a type of library. You can ask a question and find information about almost anything."

Leo's eyes seemed to light up as he stared at Sakura's desktop. "Ask it if it knows what it is, and what its intended purpose is."

It was almost impossible for her to suppress her giggle, but Sakura managed to do so as she typed into the search box the definition of a computer. He looked quite stunned after reading the definition on the screen.

"What kind of sorcery…?" he asked quietly.

"I-It's not sorcery, it's technology," Sakura corrected. Based on their conversation about the Nohr that Leo lived in compared to what Nohr was like today, Sakura was reminded of a book she'd read in middle school about a boy being able to travel through time to learn about history.

This led her to believe that Leo traveled to the future somehow.

Though, this was proving to be difficult. The internet had a lot of theories about time travel, but not solid evidence. It was to be expected – not many people thought it was real. Before Leo came crashing through her mirror, even Sakura had a hard time believing in time travel.

With each click of a web page, she found herself growing more frustrated on not being able to find something of use. Everything was either too complicated or some kind of joke.

"Don't stress yourself over it," said Leo. "We can always use the internet another time."

She smiled. He was right.

* * *

For the past week, there was hardly a moment when Leo wasn't by Sakura's side. She always brought dinner up to her room for him to eat, and any time he needed the bathroom, Sakura would keep watch in front of the door, telling any of her family members who walked by that she was waiting for someone to get out of the bathroom.

Leo spent most of his time in Sakura's room, keeping busy by using her computer that he seemed to take a liking to, or reading some of her text books. At night, Leo slept on the air mattress that Sakura managed to snag from the basement.

It was rather funny when he wouldn't believe her after she told him that the air mattress would absolutely support his weight the whole night.

("What type of witchery is this?" was what he said after he watched it rise from the floor.)

Despite her success in keeping Leo a secret from her family, Sakura felt that her luck was running thin, especially since spring break was coming to a close. School was starting up tomorrow, and when Leo had questioned her about it, she explained that it was a facility for learning.

"What?" Leo asked. "Why do you have to go somewhere else to receive an education? Don't your tutors come to your home? Besides, do you really need school if you have the internet?"

Sakura wanted to laugh. She was sure Takumi said something to that effect when they were younger. "W-Well, school is a little different from learning from internet. You sit in a class w-with your peers and you learn together. There are d-different subjects like math, language, science, and history… and you get tested on whether or not you've been retaining the information."

At that moment, Leo's eyes practically began to shine. "How remarkable. And all commoners get to use this recourse?"

"Y-Yes," Sakura nodded, although a little put off by his wording. "School is usually free for everyone. If you wanted to go to a private school or higher education, y-you'd have to pay."

"Sakura," he started, "I think I'd like to accompany you to school."

"Wh-What?" She squeaked. "B-But you can't just walk in and sit at a desk!"

His brow furrowed in confusion. "And why not? I thought you said it was free."

"I-It is free, but you have to be enrolled," she explained. "A-And besides, I wasn't telling you about it so you could go. I told you because I won't be here with you for most of the day…"

She wanted him to be on his best behavior here. That meant no exploring her house when she wasn't around, or popping up in front of his family.

"But if it worries you that much, wouldn't it be better to take me to school with you so that you can keep an eye on me?" he asked.

Leo made a solid point.

* * *

Sakura had spent her time in the bathroom mirror perfecting the perfect puppy dog eyes. She had to if she were to ever convince her father to let Leo stay with them for a while. Leo was getting a bit restless now that he'd been in her room for two weeks (not that she blamed him) and if his presence were known, it'd be a lot easier to take him outside.

"Planning on asking Mom and Dad for a raise in allowance?" Takumi asked her, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.

"No," Sakura started. "S-Something else."

Her brother eyed her once more. "Huh, must be something big if you're practicing faces in the mirror," he commented before leaving.

Oh, he had no idea.

* * *

"P-Please, Dad? He's from another country a-and doesn't have any place t-to stay!" Sakura begged. She didn't really need to practice in the mirror. The tears that welled in the corners of her eyes were real. She'd always been an easy crier, now that she thought about it.

Although her mother was vehemently against Leo staying in their home, how could Sumeragi say no to his youngest daughter? He always had a soft spot for Sakura, doting on her whenever he had the chance.

Her pictures filled his wallet and decorated his desk at work – seeing her smile was the highlight of his day. So one could imagine how distraught he was when he watched the tears from his daughter's eyes spill down onto her cheeks.

"…He can stay."

"Sumeragi!" Ikona scolded.

Through her tears, Sakura smiled. "C-Can he really?"

Of course. But not without a few ground rules.

Leo was to sleep in the living room, and her father made it explicitly clear that he wasn't allowed in her bedroom. He would attend school, or at least get a job, because he wouldn't be spending the entire day in Sumeragi's house doing nothing, that was for sure.

Around bed time, Sakura had come down to wish him a good night. "Are you comfortable?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes. This 'couch' of yours is rather soft," he started. "Though, I do miss the bed made of air."

She giggled. "Y-You mean the air mattress. I can bring it down here for you tomorrow, i-if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate that very much. You have my gratitude." He paused momentarily. "You know, I didn't think you'd be quite the actress."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "I don't understand."

Leo's brow furrowed. "With the crying and all that. You didn't have to go through all that just to have me stay here."

Oh, that. She forgot that he'd seen everything, and the thought made her cheeks redden. "I-I wasn't acting. I made a promise to you that-that I was going to try to help you get back home. It made me really sad to think that if m-my parents said no, that you would have had to go out on your own i-in a place unfamiliar to you…"

When she was met with silence, all Sakura could think to do was fidget with her fingers – a nervous habit. Slowly, she looked to meet his gaze. "B-But I would have come to find you… I-I would have, if that w-were the case."

She would remember this moment for a long time; the moment when Leo's lips curled into a rather genuine smile and his gaze seemed to soften. "I… Thank you, Sakura. I'm grateful to have someone as kind as you to help me through this."

He would always be welcome.

* * *

Sakura couldn't help but worry over Leo terribly. He had finally gotten what he wanted; to be enrolled in school! But as luck would have it, Leo was put into a different grade. Sakura could barely pay attention to what was being scribbled down on the board in front of her.

Did he understand what was going on in any of his classes? She had no idea if math was the same as it was centuries ago, or if he was getting into heated debates with the language teacher because he personally knew the author of a very ancient book.

How was he getting along with the rest of his peers? Was he at least being friendly? Not being able to check on him was practically torturing her.

An eternity seemed to pass before the school bell rang, signifying the end of lessons and the beginning of the 45-minute lunch break. Sakura was the first one out of the classroom, and her feet carried her as quickly as they could (without running) to Leo's classroom.

She made it just in time to watch the hoard of students file out by twos, and it was only after she caught sight of Leo did she allow herself to breathe. He strode up to her, but there was a clear look of annoyance across his features. Did something happen?

"Wh-What's wrong?" she asked.

Leo folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight onto one leg. "Hmph. Some learning facility this is. The historical information about certain parts of Nohr are completely inaccurate. I should know – we have a library of important documents and records in there."

"Th-The Records Hall?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah, so you've heard of it."

She nodded. "Um, Leo… the Record's Hall was b-burned down to the ground a very long time ago. A-All the records were lost."

His eyes widened with shock. "You're… not joking?" Leo asked tentatively.

She nodded. "O-Our textbooks talk about it, but not for very long."

"How can this be? Who's responsible for burning it down?"

"N-No one really knows how it happened…" Sakura explained. "Only that i-it happened."

There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and when Leo let out a small sigh, Sakura knew that he was taking this harder than he let on. The Records Hall was that important to him. Maybe he contributed works of his own there, only to have them reduced to ashes.

"Can… c-can you tell me about what you remember reading? I-In the Records Hall, I mean?" she asked. "I'd love to hear about it."

Her voice seemed to shake him from his distraught state, and he cleared his throat. "O-Of course. I think I'll start with the one I read most recently…"

* * *

Finding out that the Records Hall burned down long ago hurt Leo, Sakura concluded. Why else would he disappear over the weekend without so much as a single word of where he planned to go? Her heart rate sped up as each hour passed and there was still no sign of Leo.

What if he was lost and couldn't find his way back to her? What if he had gotten hurt somehow, and no one was there to take care of him? Even worse, what if he managed to find a way back to his normal home?

No, it wasn't a bad thing, Sakura scolded herself. This was what they were striving for – it was good that he found his way home.

But the least he could have done was say goodbye to her. Although maybe, it happened as quickly as when he crashed into her bedroom in the first place. If Leo had the chance, she was sure he'd give her a proper goodbye.

Even as thoughts of him being back in his original time swirled in her head, she continued to search for him desperately. Her heart threatened to split in two, and her eyes were starting to tear up. It was getting harder to breathe.

Sakura relaxed when she caught sight of him at the library, surrounded by a pile of open books as he slept comfortably by the table.

* * *

"A cell phone?" Leo parroted, marveling at the contraption for a moment. It was black and sleek looking, but also inexpensive "What does it do?"

"I-It's a device that I can use to talk to you when you're far away from me," Sakura explained.

Leo eyed the phone once more. "Wizardry," he commented with a furrowed brow.

"It's n-not wizardry, it's a cell phone," said Sakura. "…I was very nervous when I couldn't f-find you last weekend. I-I was so scared because I thought that something… something bad happened to you. S-So Leo please, call me if you're going out or anything, so that I won't worry."

"My apologies, Sakura." His voice carried an earnestness to it. "I never meant to make you worry so much. You have my word, any time that I step out, I'll call you and let you know… er, and how might I do that exactly?"

A small bout of laughter escaped her before she explained how it all worked. He picked it up relatively quickly (as he did with everything, Sakura realized) and decided that he wanted to try calling her. His name popped up on her cellphone as it buzzed on the table before her.

She picked up. "Hello?"

He watched her in astonishment, and Sakura could only guess that hearing her voice from the other end of the line was somewhat strange for him. Even so, he spoke, "Hello to you too."

"Um, a-are you going somewhere today?" she asked.

"Yes. The library," he answered, brown eyes trained on maroon ones.

"O-okay. Come back safely…"

"…I will. I promise."

A silence enveloped the room for a while before Sakura thought to end the call, and rather clumsily too. "A-And that's how ph-phone calls work…" she managed to say in a voice so light, she wondered if Leo could even hear her.

Apparently, he did. "I see. That was most insightful, Sakura. So… thank you…"

All she could do was nod. For the rest of the day, she had such a hard time looking in his general direction.

* * *

Petty theft around her neighborhood was not unheard of, but definitely uncommon. It was a wonder why the gods had chosen Sakura to be targeted by some thief who wanted to take her pink cell phone and whatever was left of her allowance in her purse in a somewhat desolate part of town.

She wasn't going to put up a fight. There was no reason for him to grab her the way he did. She couldn't outrun him, nor could she fight back. Though, everything was much clearer when she managed to open her eyes, and got a good look at Leo, who looked on in horror.

Although she tried her hardest to put on a brave face for him, Sakura couldn't seem to hold back the tears in her eyes. There was a pocket knife, just inches away from her neck, and even though her mind had been hazy enough that she could hardly register what the thief was saying, she could safely assume that he wanted Leo's possessions too.

It was almost funny.

For weeks now, she constantly reminded Leo to be safe. Now she was the one in harm's way, and she was only out of his sight for a few minutes.

Leo shrugged the backpack off of his shoulders, and Sakura was just happy to see him being compliant. That is, until she saw him take out that book. The same purple one with the peculiar black insignia on its cover. She recalled how its pages rustled without wind, and the eerie purple glow around his hand.

She shuddered. "N-No–!"

"Shut up!" her captor hissed.

Her eyes begged him – please, don't kill him – but his eyes were only focused on his prey.

In an instant, curling tree branches and vines ensnare him, removing his grip on Sakura entirely as she stumbled backwards and landed on the floor, hastily and desperately moving to scramble away from him.

The knife clattered harmlessly on the concrete ground before it caved in underneath him. With force, the plants pulled him under, and the bloodcurdling scream was the last thing she heard from him before the sidewalk returned to normal.

Leo rushed to her side, kneeling down to meet her gaze. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced in concern.

"Wh-What was that…?" she breathed.

"Magic."

She had never seen anything like it before.

* * *

Days after their run in with the thief, Leo and Sakura didn't talk much. They were around each other often, but she couldn't find it in herself to say anything to him other than idle chitchat. Leo broke their silence sometime later.

It was when they were on the couch, watching a murder mystery show that Leo seemed particularly fond of after he got over his initial shock of people in a thin, rectangular box.

"Sakura," he started. "Do I scare you?"

Her eyes widened slightly, but she never turned to face him. Her fingers dug into the couch, and she bit down on her bottom lip for a moment. "Did… did you kill that man?"

"No," he answered simply. "I was going to, but I read up on the laws of your land on the internet. It wouldn't do your family well to harbor a criminal, would it?"

How could he admit it without any hesitation or remorse?

"Was that… w-was that what you were going to do to me w-when you first showed up?" Her voice quivered terribly, and she internally berated herself for it.

Leo turned to look at her, and through her peripheral vision, she could see how slightly his mouth opened and how wide his eyes were. She only turned to look at him when he reached for her hand, and she could see the amount of tenderness his eyes held.

"How do I make up for that?" he asked, his voice quiet. "I want you to know how much I regret attempting to do so."

"I… I know you're sorry about it. Y-You already apologized right after it happened. I'm n-not angry at you or anything, I-I just wanted to know the truth." A pause. "T-To answer your question, you don't scare me… I just… I have so much to learn about you… a-and the time you come from."

"And I you."

A silence overcame the room as the two sat on the couch, hand in hand. Leo was the first to lean in towards her, eyes closing on his way towards her. She inched forward ever so slowly, her heart practically drumming against her chest.

They had been so close, lips almost grazing each other when the front door opened. Leo wrenched his hand away from her while Sakura jolted away from him. Takumi entered the living room to greet them, but stopped halfway when he undoubtedly noticed the pop of color on their cheeks.

"…What are you two doing?" he asked, eyes narrowing at the two of them.

"N-Nothing–"

"Watching television–"

They cried out in unison.

"Uh-huh…" Takumi muttered before retreating upstairs to his bedroom.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Not very long after, Leo had stolen a quick peck on her cheek. She couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the night.

* * *

Over summer vacation, Sakura found herself desperately trying to find a way for Leo to go back home, as she could tell that he'd been suffering from a mild case of homesickness. During the time the two of them spent out at the park or at an ice cream shop, Leo would tell her about his family, speaking of them ever so fondly as he did.

She'd spend her days in the library, sneezing due to the thick layer of dust that some of the books had accumulated. At night, she stayed up way too late on the computer, looking for theories about time travel, and how she could achieve it.

Not only was she trying for his sake, but the guilt of selfishly wanting him to stay here with her when he had his own family to be with was also why Sakura was trying so hard. It was scary to think about. In these past few months, Sakura had gotten so attached to Leo.

He was intelligent and hardworking. A little rough around the edges, but Sakura found it endearing. And then there was the fact that he looked exactly what she expected a prince to look like. Now that he was in her life, it was rather hard to picture it without him.

It was a rather hot day in August when Leo asked her if she wanted to go to the mall. Leo wasn't the type to actively want to go shopping, so Sakura had found this a bit peculiar. When she asked, he held up a flyer reading "Witchcraft Supplies."

"I'm curious to see if these things actually work or not," Leo said, donning his usual smirk. "I'd like to purchase a few things and see for myself."

Sakura was a bit uncomfortable at the thought of Leo casting dark magic in her home, but then again, with Brynhildr (it had taken her a while to remember the tome's name) Leo made little branches of cherry blossoms for her. It would be unfair to filter which magic he could and could not use (unless he destroyed half of their home with whatever magic he was planning on casting.

A thought suddenly struck her.

"Leo, a-are you buying these things to try and get home?" she asked.

One of his eyebrows raised in question. "What are you talking about? I'm only going in to try a few things. What, are you trying to rush me back home?"

She gasped. "N-No! Not at all! I… I just know that you really miss your family, and I don't want you to think that I'm n-not working of finding a way to get you back home, because I am! I just–"

"Sakura," Leo cut in. "Don't you think I've also done my fair share of research? It's okay. You don't need to push yourself."

"B-but what if you never get home because I'm n-not working hard enough?"

Leo hummed in thought for a moment. "Well, if I never got home, I'd miss my family tremendously. However, being with you right now gives me the same warm feeling home does. I'm not in a rush."

What a coincidence.

Sakura wasn't in such a rush either.

**Author's Note:**

> I think tomorrow's prompt will be my free day. I also really wanted to write a scene of where Leo left to go back to his own time, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. However, you can have this:
> 
> "You're letting me keep your phone?" he asked her.
> 
> "Y-Yes. As something to remember me by."
> 
> "...Can I still call you at any time?"
> 
> "It... it doesn't work like that..."
> 
> "Oh..." She could see the disappointment in his features. "So your magic doesn't work in my time."
> 
> _It's not magic,_ she wanted to say, but he already knew that. "No, it doesn't. I-I'm sorry."


End file.
